the doggy lama
If you don't HAVE it, don't DO it. Never try to train while stressed.
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Buddy, a 10lb Pomeranian mix has gone missing and we are trying to help him find his way home.
He was last seen with a vendor at the Stadium/Armory, at 19th and East Capitol Streets SE, onThursday, September 20 at around 6:30pm.
A good Samaritan picked him up off the street and asked if anyone knew him. The vendor said that he knew the dog’s owner and took him off her hands.
Unfortunately, that man now says that a blond woman with two small children came up to him and said that the dog was hers. He says he handed Buddy over to this stranger and last saw them walking west on East Capital Street SE.
We have a hard time believing this story and are hoping that neighbors will keep an eye out for anyone who has just recently acquired a dog like Buddy.
We have sent out a Pet Amber Alert, spoken to the police, called shelters and vets and talked to the parties involved.
PLEASE help us extend our reach by talking with neighbors and letting us know if you see ANY dog that fits Buddy’s description.
If you have any information, please contact Saving Grace Services at 202-544-9247 or send a message to info@savinggraceservices.com.
Please help my buddy, Maggie, find her way home.
She is a Beagle/Retriever mix, 30 pounds and fairly shy. She has been seen near her home at 13th & K SE, around 12 & 19th, C & D Streets, SE, all the way up to H Street. Please keep an eye out for her. When you see her, DO NOT CHASE HER! Immediately call 202.431.0255.
If you drop down to her level and call her cheerfully, she may come. If not, try the following:
TIPS FOR HELPING A LOST PET
1) Take a picture right away, preferably one with a time stamp.
2) Collect as much information as you can about where you are.
Again, Do NOT chase the dog!
By trying to be a helping hero, rather than collecting information, you could actually make things worse for the dog.
From a behavioral perspective, the dog you are walking up to is not the dog who slept in a cozy bed at home. It is a creature living totally in the moment.
I talk all the time about how dogs don’t have cumulative memory, so they aren’t lying around reminiscing about their puppyhoods. A lost dog is the same. S/he isn’t thinking, ‘Oh rescue!’ The only thought in that dog’s mind is survival.
Some dogs might be so people oriented that they would rush up to a stranger, but most wouldn’t. As a helper, you don’t want to take that risk and force a dog to run out into traffic or to move out of the area where they have found food or a safe hole to hide in. Trust the people who have the time, resources and experience to do what is best for the dog.
This is especially true if you are in a hurry or feeling anxious. Your frame of mind will effect the dog you are approaching, so treat the interaction like an accident report. Get all the info you can and share it as quickly as possible.
Also, contact the District’s 311 non-emergency number to connect with a Animal Control officer and the Humane Society at 202-BE-HUMANE (202-234-8626).
Please help Maggie find her people. They miss her so much!
I rarely ever take appointments off Capitol Hill, but this weekend, I’ve got wheels and time.
Saturday after 3 and Sunday mid-morning & afternoon slots are available.
If you’ve put off having that very important conversation with your pooch about:
be in touchI’ll be happy to help!
Spring is blooming all over and it’s the perfect time to help our fur friends to get in shape.
According to a recent study published in the Wall Street Journal, one-fifth of dogs and cats are classified ‘obese’, while more than 30 per cent are above normal weight. This epidemic is causing record-breaking cases of pet arthritis, cancers, diabetes and kidney failure.
No one wants to think of their pooch as pudgy, or their cat as fat, but the good news is that this condition is 100% within our control.
Steven Budsberg, veterinary expert at the University of Georgia, told the Wall Street Journal, ‘There’s the high cost to people, and it’s self-induced. I never met a German shepherd who could open the refrigerator or food bag and pour himself another bowl.’
Try these get-fit tips this spring, and all year round:
The unrelenting stress of the last eight weeks and the shock of the last two days have been replaced with a crushing misery that answers the questions my mind was screaming on Wednesday. “What does this mean? How will I be?”
I know now, and I wish I did not.
People who knew Bartleby, and those who simply observed him, most often used the words ‘devoted’ and ‘soulful’ to describe him. “Gentleman” and “nerdy” were also favorites.
They commented all the time on how constant his gaze on me was. He looked at me, and to me, for everything…How should I feel about this? Where are we going? (Even when that journey was a mere five feet, it was worthy of close scrutiny and accompaniment.) Isn’t this awesome? And the ever popular, “Can I eat that?”
What those same people did not notice, I guess, is that the gaze was entirely mutual. My life was paced by milliseconds and microscopic decisions…How will I sit in this chair since Bartleby will be asking permission to share it any second now? How will I plan my errands and adventures to include him as much as possible? Is doing X more important/enjoyable/meaningful than being with him? What can I contribute to the lives of others? What do I need to feel comfortable and safe?
All of these questions had a single answer.
My rising and resting, my work, my play, a huge portion of my socializing, the sense of meaning in my life…these were all inextricably tied to Bartleby.
I’ve told the story a thousand times of how I made a declaration to the Universe that I wanted to wake up laughing every day. That wish was answered in a way I could never have imagined…a stubby, spotted, little guy who, without my even noticing, redefined who I am, and how I am, in the world.
I like and respect myself more than I ever have because of how I was with Bartleby.
Now, as I move through those same milliseconds that seem to grind on no matter how much I wish they would not, my gaze falls on empty space and the enormous, seemingly bottomless, reserve of love I never knew existed in me lies wanting. When I rise, there is no greeting. When I choose my next step, there is no guide. It is as if I’ve lost a vital organ.
Now, I am in the world without him, which doesn’t seem possible to anyone, not even to people who barely knew us. I have heard ‘But, it’s always been Bonny & Bartleby!” so many times in the last two days.
It turns out that ‘always’ is defined as 9 years, 9 months and 4 days. 3556 days…only 22 of which were spent apart. 85,584 hours of knowing what I was about, where I was going and why I did whatever I did.
Today, almost everything is different and that difference is dreadful. It is an ache in my heart that is threatening to overtake me. How many times will I look down, seeking those huge, brown eyes? How many more tears will I shed when I cannot find them?
Over the last two days, I have been SO comforted by the many reassurances that I did the right thing for Bartleby. I wasn’t sure in the first dreadful hours, but I do know the rightness of it now. What he taught me about love and devotion fueled my actions and guided my steps even when I felt as though I was pitifully flailing.
But, what now?
I was honorable. I let love steer me. I did the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entirely eventful life. And now, my devotion, my gaze, and my heart, are all falling into empty space.
Bartleby needs help and I need help giving it to him.
In exchange, I’d like to offer something that I hope will be valuable to you.
If you and I have connected for more than 5 minutes over the last 9 years, you know that the most important thing in my personal life is Bartleby, my beloved dog. He is everything to me…an inspiration, a joy, and a teacher…so, much more than just a companion animal.
Right now, he needs surgery…a very painful and expensive procedure that will ultimately cure a chronic infection and will help him to live a longer and healthier life.
I have put this off because his pet insurance will not cover this expense and, quite frankly, I’ve exhausted the funds available for his health care.
None of that matters anymore.
Bartleby’s body can no longer fight the infection on his own and the diseased tissue must be removed. He is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday, the 15th of November.
That is why I am reaching out today with a fund-raising campaign that I hope will be both useful and fruitful.
While thinking about how Bartleby has suffered with a nagging discomfort for years that has suddenly ‘blown up’ and become painful and dangerous, I came up with something I can do in exchange for your help.
I would like to help you to find relief and resolution through the right language.
Whether it is:
I can help you write the perfect letter, or script.
Whether or not you ever deliver it, the simple act of choosing what to say can be surprisingly healing.
Here, you’ll find some quick questions to get the ball rolling.
Please know that every cent raised will go directly to Bartleby’s surgery and aftercare and that I am extremely grateful for every contribution to his well-being, whether financial, prayer or just a good thought.
We are grateful for everything,
Bonny and Bartleby
I’m both sad and glad to report that my friends’ Beagle mix, Sassafras is still missing. It’s sad because she has been on the street since April 8th. It’s glad because recent search tracks have indicated that she is still out there. (See the latest in her blog here.)
I spoke to one of Sassafras’ people yesterday about DC Lost Pet Alert wanting to know the most important things anyone hoping to help in a search should know.
What struck me the most is that the one thing a good-hearted person would want to do to help is the very last thing they should do.
When my friend said, “Tell people to take a picture right away, preferably one with a time stamp. Collect as much information as you can about where you are. Do NOT chase the dog!” it made perfect sense in a way I had not thought of before.
By trying to be a helping hero, rather than collecting information, you could actually make things worse for the dog.
Read more about why it is such a bad idea, after the jump.
This is one of my favorite events of the year.
I’ll be joining a couple of local dignitaries at the judging table. We will put our noses together to choose the best in show, as well as best costume, best trick, funniest, smallest/tallest, etc.
See the calendar for details and then bring your four footed friends for a fun time!
Just recently, I witnessed a well-meaning dog person pinning his puppy to the ground, his hand around her neck. He used an alpha roll in an effort to teach his dog to not jump on other dogs in the park.
The puppy screamed so loudly and for so long, that I broke off a conversation I was having with a client, and sprinted across the park. I was expecting to have to do first aid on an injured animal.
Instead, I found this man, holding his four month old down, looking at her with thunder in his eyes.
Can you see the error in his logic?
Read more on “alpha rolls make sense when dogs do it” »
